Beyerdynamic
82 / COMPUTER MUSIC March 2022
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A rapid-ire round-up of hardware, samples, and much more
mini reviews
Web presonus.com
Gear USB audio interface with DSP processing
It’s fair to say that the small audio interface
market is a pretty crowded one, full to the brim
with units from SSL, MAudio, Native
Instruments, UA, Focusrite (we looked at their
latest Clarett+ 2Pre a couple of issues back) and
more. While most are ideal for small setups and
singer/songwriters, and are usually very mobile
and USB-powered, they all also need to have a
USP to stand out from the (massive) crowd. And
Presonus’ latest is no exception…
We looked at the company’s Revelator
microphone last year and this interface takes
some of the same tech and gives you a diferent
slant on it. The Revelator mic features DSP
processing to shape your voice in a wide
number of ways (some, as we said, more useful
than others) and similar processing is on ofer
here, within Presonus’ Universal Control
software. Here, as well as the same kind of
routing options you get with other interface
apps, you get compressor, EQ, voice and other
efects. You get the impression that there is
more for the voice than anything else, not
surprising given that Revelator the mic and
Revelator the interface both have podcasting
and streaming very much in mind, but there are
decent studio features here too.
Two combi inputs allow you to connect up a
wide variety of sources and the recording
quality is excellent plus you also get phantom
power options and a high-pass ilter to help roll
of any rumble. A genius feature is the multi-
function knob that you can press to cycle
through functions including headphone volume,
monitor level and overall mix. It’s the star in
what is a very easy-to-use package overall.
With Studio One Artist thrown in, this is a
great interface for musicians, but if you’ve got
broadcast aspirations, there’s even more for you
here. Add the DSP processing, Stream Mix mode
for streamers and loopback functionality — that
enables you to easily blend interviews via Zoom
etc with efects and music — and you have an
interface that stretches itself well across a
variety of 2022 tasks.
n 9 / 1 0 n
Presonus
Revelator io24
£172
S y n t h
Gems £54
Web bjooks.com
Gear Hardback hardware synth book
There are books and there are
cofee table books and Synth
Gems deinitely falls into the
latter category — it’s not a book
you’d take on a train journey or
read in bed. (Unless you were
married to Vince Clarke, or our
very own synth god Dave Gale.)
Synth Gems is all about classic
synths, not modular, as most of
these have keyboards and all are
beautiful. There are the obvious
ones — the Minimoog, Prophet-5,
Jupiter-8 et al — and some you might not have heard of, plus
some quirky Casios, rare Elgams and even the odd organ.
There’s probably little here that you wouldn’t have read
about in Computer Music’s many retro features over the years,
but where Synth Gems wins is in sheer size and presentation.
Beautiful photos from all angles, incredibly well shot and so
tantalisingly ‘within reach’ that the book might well get you
hankering after hardware and ditching your plugins. If nothing
else it will give you an idea of where your software has come
from and why these machines are still so in demand and
expensive. And at £54, the book isn’t exactly cheap itself, but at
least we know what we’re getting Dave for his next birthday.
n 8 /10n
Beyerdynamic
DT 900 Pro X £219
Web polar.uk.com, beyerdynamic.com
Gear Closed-back headphones
Last month we reviewed the
Beyerdynamic DT 700 Pro X closed back
headphones and said they ofer the
comfort and sound of the company’s
almost iconic DT 1770, which are probably
in our top three headphones list — and
yes, we have a headphones list — yet are
pretty much half the price. A great buy. On
test here we have the 900 Pro X, the sister
model to the 700s, delivering the same
kind of experience — similar comfort and
weight, same 48 Ohm impedance, same
5Hz to 40kHz frequency range — but in an
open back design. Open back headphones
have, as you might expect, less isolation
but in our tests here, they do ofer a more
immersive mix experience. You are more ‘in it’ rather than
examining it, so they might not be as good for mixing, but are
certainly on a par for ‘experiencing’ your music. Ideally, then,
you’d have both, the 700s for mixing and 900s for listening, but
either way, you get exceptional Beyerdynamic quality for not a
lot of cash, at least compared to some phones out there. Our
‘sensible’ head though, is opting for the 700s that already have a
beautiful sound stage but, really, in a quiet studio environment,
both deliver the mix goods.
n 9 / 1 0 n
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